The city of Ames, IA (zip code 50012) is a vibrant and diverse community with a long history of progressive political activism. While Iowa’s state politics lean Republican, the city of Ames has a distinctively liberal streak, thanks in part to the presence of Iowa State University. In recent years, the city has seen local politicians take on progressive stances on issues like healthcare reform and renewable energy sources. For example, Mayor Ann Campbell has advocated for the expansion of public transportation options in Ames while championing clean energy initiatives. Additionally, City Council Member Amber Corbin is an advocate for better mental health services and support for individuals experiencing homelessness. With passionate locals driving social change, Ames remains an inspiring example of how communities can come together to create meaningful solutions to the challenges they face.
The political climate in Zip 50012 (Ames, IA) is moderately liberal.
Story County, IA is moderately liberal. In Story County, IA 57.2% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 39.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 3.0% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, Story county remained very strongly Democratic, 57.2% to 39.9%.
Story county voted Democratic in every Presidential election since 2000.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Zip 50012 (Ames, IA) is moderately liberal.
Ames, Iowa is moderately liberal.
Story County, Iowa is moderately liberal.
Ames Metro Area is moderately liberal.
Iowa is leaning conservative.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
Ames, Iowa: d d D D D D
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D for the Democrat and I for the Independent. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in zip 50012 (Ames)
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 2 contributions totaling $10 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $5 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 0 contributions totaling $0 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $0 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)